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In an end-of-the-year agreement, Costa Rican lawmakers approved a new free trade zone reform that offers tax incentives for businesses electing to set up operations in regions outside the Central Valley, among a host of other reforms.

Costa Rica has become the ideal place where families can warm up, learn about their natural environment and be green without spending a lot of money this season.

Thirty multinational firms set up new offices in Costa Rica in 2008, bringing $428 million in investment, according to a report issued Monday by the Costa Rican Investment Board (CINDE).

In her victory speech on election night, President-elect Laura Chinchilla listed her administration's many goals for the next four years. On the list were improving public education, bettering health care coverage and continuing the country's push for